The Angus secures HLF Funding

Oxford’s Regent’s Park College has received £488k from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and The Baptist Union Newington Court Fund (BUGB) to provide opportunities for people to learn about the important part Baptists played in the history of the United Kingdom and the world. The project will also safeguard this unique and important part of nation’s heritage.

This funding will enable us to catalogue, conserve and provide opportunities for more people to learn from and participate in the heritage contained in the collection in the following ways:.

• Write and distribute image rich lesson-starters and in-depth teaching resources for young people studying history at Secondary School (KS3 and 4)
• Work with IntoUniversity to develop year 10 and 11 Archive Taster Sessions to enable students from disadvantaged backgrounds aspiring to go to University to learn how to use a range of original documents in a archive setting
• Hold biennial lectures and exhibitions linked to national events like Fair Trade Fortnight, Black History Month and International Women’s Day
• Fully catalogue the collection and make it searchable online
• Digitise the BMS World Mission missionary paper archives and make them available online
• Work with churches to run a programme of training courses which will highlight the need for simple best practice archiving of church records and artefacts so that these important documents are preserved for future generations
• Run courses on writing church histories so that congregations can record their histories and tell the story of their church

We will recruit and train volunteers as part of delivering all these exciting activities and if people are interested in getting involved in the project they should contact Emma Walsh, College Librarian.

Quote:

Emma Walsh, College Librarian at Regent’s Park College

“This grant will help us to realise the dream of helping more people discover and engage with the unique riches that are held in The Angus. 400 years ago the first Baptist community settled in Spitalfields, London. It is exciting that in the year that this anniversary has been celebrated we can start a new phase of helping people engage with another aspect of the nation's shared history”

Quote:

Dr Robert Ellis, College Principal

“We are privileged to have The Angus Library and Archive at Regent’s Park College where it can be accessed alongside the unrivalled resources of the University of Oxford. The College’s Governing Body is delighted that the HLF and BUGB are enabling us to further improve accessibility to and awareness of its unique contents.

These grants are essential if the College is to ensure the collection is catalogued, conserved and that access to it is extended. However, funding for higher education has never been more precarious and The College’s reliance on donations from alumni, friends and churches remains.”

 

Quote:

Stuart McLeod, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund South East, said:

“Saving our historic archives is so important - they are a valuable resource for anyone wanting to explore their past. The Angus is bursting with stories and facts that give us clues as to what Baptist life was like and how that has shaped us into what we are today.”

Further Information:

If you’d like more information, or to schedule an interview with Emma Walsh, College Librarian please call 01865 288142 or email emma.walsh@regents.ox.ac.uk.